


Look Back

by kiminseong



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: M/M, nothing bad happens tho its ok, other members are mentioned, so is jihoon's mom, the rating is just cause it is like...a little kissy? and kinda strange gotta admit?, there might be mistakes but i did my best to proofread
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-14 02:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15378618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiminseong/pseuds/kiminseong
Summary: Jihoon wasn't sure what to say... It was hard just leaving the boy. There was some sort of magnetic charm Daniel had that made him feel safe and comfortable. On top of that, though, Jihoon wasn't going to make it home without Daniel.





	Look Back

  

Jihoon had never thought much of the way the moon and city lights shine against the water, but the way light dances in white and green hues against the near blue is fascinating. He didn’t think about it, though, as his feet carried him over the long bridge across the river that barricaded him in. The paper in his hands was heavy, the words weighing him down with every other step. He felt stripped of whatever ounce of confidence was a leaf in the wind when autumn creeped into the lone streets of Korea. People were bustling, busy around him, but a ringing in his ears had him moving forward, across a street. What caught his attention faster than the water was a voice from a car that whizzed by him. Granted he couldn’t catch the words that rang in the air, he still felt the buzz of their intended effect. 

He bowed and apologized aloud, as if that was necessary, but the realization of where he was hit him and his steps were moved backwards, out of the street traffic. His face grew pinker by the second and he was nervous. His fingertips could feel the shaking from the rest of his hands because they grazed the white piece of paper that he was carrying. 

His feet carried him forward again, the traffic subsiding because of the change in light. Not the way the moon was shifting, which is what caught Jihoon’s eye faster than his immediate surroundings. The sky seemed to be getting darker and darker, and he was getting there no sooner, no matter how long he seemed to have walked. It was like the the earth was moving without him, his feet keeping him in one place while buildings moved around him. His destination always seemed farther away. 

“Oi!” a boy exclaimed from somewhere closer to Jihoon’s left than any direction, but the sound was placed somewhere aside from the forefront of his mind and was harder to find than he expected. “Sorry.” It was now apparent that he voice was coming from his direct left. 

“Yes?” Jihoon replied formally yet dumbly. The shaking in his hands was pushed aside when his eyes met the other’s. The man was indeed handsome, some features sculpted to work towards perfection. Jihoon doesn’t think he can remove the painting of the face decorated in shimmering lights in the growing night from his eyelids. “I mean… Why are you apologizing?” Jihoon asked into the night, a few people walking past could probably make out the words he was saying, but no one cared enough to pay attention. 

“I didn’t mean to sound so rude… You were about to walk straight into the road again, though…” the deep voice trailed off. Jihoon smiled at his own stupidity. Of course he was about to nosedive into the swarming streets of Seoul. When he was paying attention?

“ _ Again?”  _ Jihoon asked, catching on to the word like it had some other meaning. “Have you been watching me?” 

A nervous laugh came from the man across from him until the man was no longer across from him but rather directly in front of him. Jihoon could feel his face growing from pink to red quickly, mostly from being called out, but he didn’t expect the boy to come so close that he could hear him breath in “No, not really.”

Jihoon cut him off before he could explain any further than ‘not really’. “Not  _ really _ ?” he asked. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, if you’d let me finish…” 

“Sorry, hyung,” Jihoon almost rudely assumed based on the looks of the boy. He was young, but definitely not as young as Jihoon. Maybe early college. Jihoon had just made his way from the hell that high school is. College felt like something distant to him even if it was just at his fingertips. Literally, may he add. The paper in his hand was a form he had forgotten to turn in earlier today. The deadline is midnight and he has no means of transportation besides his legs, so off they carry him to a college campus where he will wander around until he finds the only building he recognizes. 

“Forget to turn that in?” he gestured towards the paper in Jihoon’s hands. The boy changed the subject  _ and  _ didn’t try to correct him. Jihoon knew his boyish charm would come in handy one day, but he would admit that he never imagined it being used on another boy. He couldn’t say he minded, though. Something about this boy was nicer than the girls he was used to flirting with. He never felt anything then. This was somehow different.

He had probably missed the opportunity to cross the crosswalk yet again, but he didn’t care. Something about this boy had him in a trance. What he wouldn’t do to stay in it was beyond him, too. He hadn’t felt this before, for sure. He was eager for it to stop regardless. Not because he didn’t enjoy it but mostly because he wants to know how he will react once he isn’t feeling this again. 

Moments passed and he still hadn’t answered, and he had finally caught onto how far he had to look up at the other boy just to see his face. His lip was caught between his teeth purposefully, and where he wasn’t trying to seduce the boy in front of him, he was trying to assure the nerves in his body that they could stop bouncing around and behaving as they were. 

“Yes…” he mumbled absentmindedly yet finally. 

“Do you wanna walk with me the rest of the way, then? I am heading to my apartment which is right next to campus…” Of course he was a college student and that is why he was following Jihoon. It was nothing creepy or stalker-ish. He was even offering to help Jihoon, too. He felt remotely safe, but definitely not remarkably. 

“I’m Daniel. Kang Daniel…” the man offered his hand to the smaller boy after Jihoon agreed to being escorted to campus. Jihoon accepted the handshake with a smile. Daniel looked at him expectantly, and it took him a minute to realize he was being asked his name. How did he think he was going to manage in a school for performing arts if he couldn’t even tell someone his name?

“Park Jihoon!” he assured a little too cheerily. 

“Nice to meet you, Park Jihoon,” Daniel couldn’t seem to hold back the laugh that left his mouth. It embarrassed Jihoon, for sure, but he wasn’t going to let that get to him, especially when he probably wasn’t mocking him. He could admit that his enthusiasm just moments ago was a bit strange considering he had no reason to be so happy. 

“So you go to school for performing arts?” Jihoon asked once they were finally able to cross the road. He could feel his head clearing. He had always been thankful for social interactions. Living in his head was almost the equivalent to living in uncharted territory or someplace he had never been before. 

“Mm-hm,” Daniel assured. He looked around before they crossed the next intersection. “I specialize in dance, mostly. What do you do?”

The way he asked was strange to Jihoon, but he wasn’t about to overthink something that simple. “Dance,” he announced somewhat proudly. “And acting,” he added shyly, “and modeling, if you count that…” Daniel raised his eyebrows and Jihoon grew sheepish.

“Talented, are we?” A nervous laugh pushed past Jihoon’s lips and Daniel smiled when he heard it, but it also could have been Jihoon imagining things. 

“I have been acting and modeling since I was young, so those aren’t really anything big…” Jihoon tried to explain. Lots of actors and actresses have been doing their job from a young age, but not usually as young as Jihoon started. Despite that, he didn’t want to get into much. 

Conversation about the two had went on between them playfully. They had learned things about each other that they would likely never need to know in the future. This handsome stranger that Jihoon has grown strangely close to in the past ten minutes was likely to remain a stranger as he got older, and he had tried coming to terms with that. Despite how hard he  _ tried _ , though, he still had never known a connection more instant than the one between him and this boy. 

They stood in front of the building that Jihoon called his destination just before he had met the boy, but now, he wasn’t so sure. He wanted anywhere Daniel was going to be next to be called his destination. He couldn’t explain it, but he just wanted to be around him still. 

“This is the place, right?” Daniel looked down at him when he asked. 

Jihoon only nodded his head. He wasn’t even sure what to say when he got in there. Suddenly his head felt just as blurry as when he first tried to fall into the traffic of Seoul. “I’ll be out soon, I think,” he told Daniel, then stopped himself. Why had he just said that?  
Daniel looked as taken aback as he felt. “Do you want me to wait for you? I can,” he tried asking Jihoon, but he swatted his hand in his face. 

“Don’t worry about it, hyung,” he called him and  _ properly so  _ this time around.

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” 

“Have it your way,” Daniel turned on his heels and headed the other way. He likely didn’t want to stand and argue with a high schooler, and if he was honest, Jihoon would probably have done the same thing if he were Daniel. Granted, he didn’t expect the two to depart so quickly. Jihoon only used that as an advantage, a drive, though, to get this stupid application process over. 

He stepped in, familiar white tiles greeting his pink sneakers. Walking to the desk, the woman working tiredly took his paper and looked at him, waiting. “It was supposed to be turned in with my application,” he explained. 

“Thank you, then,” she smiled warmly. “Name?”

“Park Jihoon.” She tapped on the keyboard.

“Ah, yes. It was noted as missing. I will get everything sorted out for you, although know that this incident will be noted.” 

“Yes, I understand.” She started tapping on the keyboard again.

“Have a safe night.”  
“You too,” Jihoon punctated his visit. Walking away, he was able to release a breath that he should have known he was holding. Once he made it to the doors, Daniel was back on his mind, bothering him. That stupid feeling that he thought he should deprive himself of earlier was completely gone. The idea of taking that feeling away, Jihoon realized, was not a good one. He liked how Daniel made him feel. He didn’t understand it, but he didn’t mind being confused about this sort of thing. It was comforting to not feel tied down to someone the way he was. 

When Jihoon left, the night was darker, scarier than he remembered. He didn’t want to be alone anymore and he was so upset at himself for blowing Daniel off the way he did. Each step he took away from the campus made him more nervous than the last. Daniel was leading him before now, so he wasn’t hyperfocused on direction. Because of this, he wasn’t sure of where he was going. 

_ Left or right?  _ The buildings on the right were unfamiliar to him, but the lights on those to the left were lacking. Maybe it would be safer for him to detour into better lighting. 

“Lost?” an incredibly comfortably familiar voice asked from in front of him. He hadn’t even noticed Daniel in front of him, making him feel more vulnerable than he had felt earlier. If he couldn’t notice someone he already knew, what was going to make him more alert of a stranger? 

Jihoon nodded sheepishly in spite of his embarrassment. “I mean… I am sure I could figure it out, but it just keeps getting darker and…” Jihoon wished it wasn’t so easy to cry, but this was beyond embarrassing for more reasons than he wanted to explain to someone. Luckily, Daniel seemed to understand. He shouldn’t trust a complete stranger the way he wants to be able to trust Daniel. He was an adult now, though. He could make decisions for himself. Daniel was nothing more than a college student out late at night. He wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t armed, not that Jihoon could tell. There were no signs of him being on drugs. He was safe. Maybe the belief of that statement was influenced by Jihoon’s wants, but he wasn’t so sure he cared. People met randomly all the time. Streets are still busy, even if it is late at night. If Daniel wanted to hurt Jihoon, he should have already. 

“It is alright, Jihoonie.” The nickname grew on Jihoon a lot quicker than he expected. It made him feel younger and more embarrassed than he already was, but he didn’t really mind. “I understand,” he hugged the boy which was so much more awkward than Jihoon imagined it would be. His arms were strong and warm and Jihoon liked they way he fit between them, but he felt fragile. 

“You don’t have to,” Daniel started once he broke the embrace. His voice was deep and strong and made Jihoon feel a little weightless. “Go home, I mean,” Daniel clarified upon seeing Jihoon’s puzzled reaction. Jihoon still couldn’t say he understood completely. Was Kang Daniel trying to invite Jihoon to his apartment that he had only told him so little about? He had mentioned a roommate, too. Would he be there? Wouldn’t it be awkward? Wouldn’t Daniel walking him home make more sense?

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, seriously.” 

“I do want to!” Jihoon blurted out, not thinking. It was easy to take back, but it was probably easy to ruin a potential relationship, too. Jihoon was truly hopeless. He didn’t even completely understand the context of what Daniel was saying, definitely not enough to agree to it. 

Daniel smiled. When he did, it made his nose scrunch up and he had the widest smile Jihoon could imagine a person having. His features were quick to change from sharp and handsome to cute. Jihoon didn’t see anything wrong with that, either. He liked it, in fact. He liked a lot of things about Daniel. Too many things to even note. “So you want to come over to my place? Just until morning? Seongwoo is out on break, so I think there is plenty of room…” he trailed off. Jihoon didn’t want to sleep in a stranger’s room. He did not want to sleep in a stranger’s room. He  _ did not  _ want to sleep in a stranger’s room.

“Is your bed too small?” he asked in a way that embarrassed even himself. He was  _ not  _ smooth and definitely didn’t want to give off the wrong idea...but what did he do? Tried to be smooth  _ and  _ give the wrong idea. 

Daniel looked as taken aback as Jihoon hoped he would, which was a plus. “We can sleep together if that is what you mean…” Daniel was wide eyed, probably because of how that sentence had come out. 

“I’m really sorry, hyung, but I’m not very into that on the first date…” Now Jihoon did think highly of his teasing. He gave what he knew was a fake apologetic face and started walking forwards. He wanted to turn around to see Daniel’s face, and he got lucky because he had to turn around upon the realization of not knowing where Daniel’s apartment is. 

His mouth was hanging open, yet he was smiling. His features were somewhere between their usual sharpness and cute. His eyes were still wide, and at this sight, Jihoon couldn’t but manage a smile. “Hyung?” he called back. 

“Yeah?” Daniel shook himself out of shock.

“Where do you live?” 

“Ah,” he laughed, “follow me, Jihoonie.” He caught up to the shorter boy laced their hands together, fingers holding onto fingers, palms half pressed against one another. “By the way…” he paused, looking to Jihoon to make sure he could continue.

“Go on…” 

“You don’t mind calling this a date, right?” 

“Hyung!” Jihoon brought a tiny, weak fist to Daniel’s chest as they both laughed. 

 

❤️

 

It was nearly midnight when Daniel was shoving a key into the front door of his apartment and Jihoon had nothing better to do than watch. “Right this way,” Daniel finally uttered as he managed to push the door open. He extended an arm as if Jihoon were walking into anything else other than an old apartment in a run-down apartment complex. 

“Thank you,” he smiled sheepishly. 

“So...I hope that you already had dinner because I don’t have much…” Daniel walked straight to his kitchen. He had every right to. This was  _ his  _ apartment. Just because Jihoon was uncomfortable didn’t mean Daniel should be. Maybe the man was used to this, anyway. Jihoon doesn’t know if it is normal for him to pick of boys or girls off the street and invite them to his apartment. 

“I did, thank you,” Jihoon muttered. He actually surprised himself with how meek he sounded. 

“You don’t have to be shy, Jihoonie,” Daniel smiled, “It is just my apartment. I’m really not going to do anything. I know what you aren’t into on the first date.” It was strange how close he was. It was strange that Jihoon could feel his breath on him, and it was strange that Jihoon liked how the closeness felt. He shook his head, backing away. He wasn’t upset, just confused. “Ah, sorry, Jihoonie. I was just kidding.” Jihoon looked at the distance between them. What would it take him? Three steps to get back to where he was? 

They were the quickest three steps of his life. Swiftly, he was pushing himself closer to Daniel. He was close enough that he could feel his stomach and his hands moved to his chest and his neck and they wrapped around  and up and his fingers were moving through Daniel’s hair and with a push of his toes, his lips were reaching Daniel’s and he pushed back not seconds after Jihoon initiated the contact and Jihoon could have never known how much he  _ wanted this  _ before it actually happened. 

Jihoon smiled, pulling away from the taller man just enough so he could speak, but their noses would still touch, “I don’t usually kiss on the first date.” His hands were cupping Daniel’s cheeks, and they moved with his cheeks when he smiled. It took no time before they were kissing again. Jihoon couldn’t tell if someone was leading the kiss. Their lips seemed to move as one. They pushed relentlessly against and each other and Jihoon  _ really  _ liked this.

When they pulled away, Daniel’s voice came out in a breathless whisper, “I am glad I’m an exception.” They broke apart completely, the silence ringing out in the room a little awkward. 

“I should tell my mom where I am,” Jihoon thought aloud. He wished he hadn’t, though, because could he really have said anything less romantic? He was in a college student’s apartment just three days after his own  _ high school  _ graduation. 

“You are going to tell your mom that you are at a stranger’s house? And you plan on staying the  _ night _ ?” Daniel looked at Jihoon, dumbfounded. “She’ll kill both of us  _ before  _ she calls the police!” 

Jihoon laughed, rethinking what he should do. “Ah! I have an idea!” Daniel raised his eyebrows at this, but Jihoon was already dialing his mom’s number. 

“Mom?”

“Yes? Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah, fine. I was wondering if I could stay at Woojin’s place tonight? It is so dark and our house would take even longer to get to,” Jihoon whined a bit during his explanation. If that wouldn’t convince his mom, he didn’t know what would. 

“Is his mom alright with that?”

“Yes!”

“Then I suppose it is fine. Call if you need anything. I can pick you up tomorrow morning, alright?”

“Alright.”

As he got ready to hang up, his mom’s voice broke across the line again, “I love you, honey.”

He looked over to Daniel who was trying to hold back laughter, but sitting on the couch patiently. Shaking his head, he replied, “I love you, too, mom…”

“You’re good?” Daniel managed to get out before he started laughing. 

“Yeah,” Jihoon said, admittedly a little shy. “I just have to wake early to make it to Woojin’s.” 

“Alright… Do you want to head to bed then?” Jihoon had to admit, sleep sounded nice. He was used to staying up late at night, especially with friends, but he had just been walking all day and didn’t want to think about walking any more tomorrow. 

“Yes, if that’s alright with you.” 

“It’s fine.” 

Daniel led him down a hallway. The second turn on the left was his bathroom. It was nothing special, and Jihoon didn’t really expect it to be. He realized he didn’t have a toothbrush, which was going to make things a little strange. He would go as far to sleep in the same bed as the boy, hold hands with the boy, even kiss the boy, but he was  _ not  _ about to share a toothbrush with  _ anyone _ . “Hyung, I don’t have a toothbrush.”

“You have a finger,” Daniel told him as he squirted some toothpaste onto his own toothbrush. Jihoon jerked his head to the side, taking the toothpaste bottle from Daniel. He put it on his finger and stuck it in his mouth. It was such a strange sensation, and he had to admit, he hated every second of it. He punctuated the experience with a grimace. 

“That bad?” Jihoon only nodded in response. 

Daniel’s bedroom wasn’t as messy as it could have been. Woojin’s has been worse, honestly. It was strange, being in another person’s bedroom. Being in the bedroom of the person he had just  _ kissed  _ and neither of the two said another word about it. Jihoon crawled into bed, not really capable of changing into anything more comfortable, when Daniel stopped him, “Don’t you want to where something...I dunno...a little less...uncomfortable?”

Jihoon smiled sheepishly at the remark. “I don’t have anything,” he complained. Daniel shook his head. He walked over to another door in the room, opening it. 

“I do. Come find a shirt that you wanna where. I can leave while you change.” At the instructions, Jihoon walked over to the closet. 

“Just a shirt?” he asked a little confused and innocently. 

This time Daniel blushed, “Most of mine will probably fit you like a dress anyway, but you don’t have to change your pants.” Jihoon bit his lip, unsure of what he really wanted out of this. He decided quickly on a larger pink shirt. He was lucky that the boy liked looser fitting things, honestly. 

When Daniel left, he stripped himself of his shirt and put on Daniel’s covering the bare skin he had just exposed. He looked in the mirror that was propped sadly against the wall. The shrit was around his knees for the most part. It was sure to move while he was sleeping, but if Daniel kept his distance, it wouldn’t be a problem. Jihoon was definitely wishing he had worn sweats or joggers, but no… He was left to strip himself of his jeans, which were going to be a little uncomfortable if he didn’t take them off. He left his socks on and crawled into bed, not wanting Daniel to see his bare legs. 

“You can come in!” he shouted loud enough that he figured the older boy would here. 

“Done already?” he asked, walking in. He noticed him already undercovers. “Tired, are we?” 

Jihoon nodded and turned over, away from him. He wasn’t mad or upset at all, just a little embarrassed.

“You okay?” Daniel asked as he crawled into bed next to him. There was only one blanket on the bed, so of course Daniel was under the same cover as him. They fit well next to one another. Jihoon’s small frame accommodated for Daniel’s much larger one. 

“Yes, just sleepy.” He decided to turn over and face Daniel again. He did  _ really like  _ the boy, so why be rude about one of the kindest, yet creepiest, things someone has done for him. 

“Ah. Well then, goodnight, Jihoonie,” Daniel smiled then pressed a chaste, quick kiss against Jihoon’s head. 

“Goodnight, hyung,” Jihoon replied, pecking the older on the lips before pulling himself close. For some reason, he didn’t care about the embarrassment he felt earlier. With Daniel, now, it was all gone. Daniel’s arms wrapped about Jihoon’s body, one resting under his head and neck, the other over him, tracing lines that aren’t really there across his back. 

 

❤️

 

“Will I see you again?” Daniel’s voiced across the various sounds of the early morning. He decided he knew where he was well enough to walk back without being worried. He was wearing his own clothes now, though he was very hesitant to return the shirt to Daniel. There was nothing left to do than leave and find himself at Woojin’s doorstep. 

“Only if you want to,” the corners of Jihoon’s lips perked up into a smile. 

“I do, trust me,” Daniel smiled back, his voice making it hard for Jihoon to leave. 

“Then I will see you… I can text you later?” 

“Yeah…” Daniel trailed off. It was like he wanted to say more, but Jihoon couldn’t tell. “Get home safe.” 

“I will,” Jihoon nodded. An open-mouthed yet quick kiss was pressed against Daniel’s lips. Jihoon waved as he turned and headed the other way. He did steal a few glances behind him, but he didn’t see anything other than Daniel standing and smiling and waving. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It was more like a sigh, really. He honestly couldn’t express how much he didn’t want to leave. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I do plan on continuing the storyline line! I am really happy to see that so many people look forward to that! It might take a week or two for me to write the next part, but it will come!!! 
> 
> Thank you so much and I hope you liked it!


End file.
